ShouldyourcompanyintegrateRussianpaymentmethods?

Nowadays 30 million of Russians make Internet purchases on a regular basis. Every year the amount of online sales increases by almost 30 %. In 2013, online payments have made up 10 billion euros in Russia. The biggest part of the payments is made by cash, meaning that customers pay only after the product has been delivered.

The use of different payment methods has caused significant changes. Consumer confidence towards the electronic payments has grown noticeably, and the opportunities for their use have extended.

In addition to this, there are big industry-specific differences in the payment processes. It is much more popular to pay for services rather than specific goods online. For example, the majority of tourism companies charge for their services electronically. In this case, the use of electronic payment methods is simply essential.

Electronic payment and the home delivery services are going hand in hand and becoming easier to use. Nowadays, customers can pick up and pay for their orders at any convenient place. In addition, home deliveries have gained customers’ confidence, and that is why they are growing rapidly now.

Recent studies have shown that credit cards are the second most common way of making online purchases. Electronic wallets and accounts, such as WebMoney and Yandex Money, follow credit cards. Then the popularity of online banking and mobile payment methods takes place.

Russian payment methods in online stores

Credit card penetration is a good piece of news for the international service providers. However, we should point out that only some of the Russian credit cards are valid for making online purchases at online stores outside of Russia. It means that only some of the Russian banks have the commission agreements, for example with the EU Central Bank, so that financial transactions between these banks can work.

The most effective way to take an advantage of this growing potential of Russian consumers for online purchases and payments is to integrate Russian electronic payments (including Russian banks' credit cards) into your online store. In this case, the payment can be easily made in Russia, and the borders will not create any problems for it.

Mediatalo Toimelias Ltd is the first Finnish player of the electronic payments in the Russian market. Toimelias works in cooperation with Yandex.Money, which is one of the leading payment service providers in Russia. Besides that, our company collaborates with the bank operating in Russia in order to manage the funds repatriation process to the client’s home bank account in a more reliable and flexible way.

If you are interested in the Russian market and its rapidly growing potential for online purchases, please do not hesitate to contact us!